Will Cain Country - College Football Playoff Chaos And Elation

Episode Date: December 4, 2023

Story 1: It's Christmas Season! It is Christmas Season, right? Story 2: Texas is in! Undefeated FSU is out. Injustice (and joy) in the College Football Playoff. Story 3: Governors Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom debated on Fox News Channel last Thursday night. Who won?   Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing [e-mail] Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Book club on Monday. Gym on Tuesday. Date night on Wednesday. Out on the town on Thursday. Quiet night in on Friday. It's good to have a routine. And it's good for your eyes too. Because with regular comprehensive eye exams at Specsavers,

you'll know just how healthy they are. Visit Spexsavers.cavers.cai to book your next eye exam. Eye exams provided by independent optometrists. It's Christmas season. It is Christmas season, right? When is Christmas season? Two, Texas is in. Joy.

Florida State is out. Injustice. The college football playoff. 3. Ron DeSantis versus Gavin Newsom. A vision of the future. It's the Wilcane podcast on Fox News podcast. What's up? And welcome to Monday. As always, I hope you will download rate and review this podcast wherever you get your audio entertainment at Apple Spotify or at Fox News podcast. You can watch the Will Kane podcast on Rumble or on YouTube. I'm all talk. least in parts. Pete Egg Seth and I sometimes joke around in the elevator banker in the green room about how I'm not a rebel. I'm like everybody else. I'm just sheep. I just bleat a little louder than the other sheep, but we're all headed at the same slaughterhouse. I'm all talk. You know, I talk a big game about what it is to own a dog. I just closed my door to come in here and hang out with

Hugh. And you haven't had an update on the sweet girl that looked at me as I shut the door. You haven't had an update on Violet. Violet is responsible for the greatest greetings I've ever received in my life. If I go away from my home for anything longer than approximately 90 minutes, but certainly when I leave for New York and return, the greetings that I receive, are amazing. I've owned other dogs. I've owned other Dobermans, but I've never owned a welcome, like the one that has extended me by Violet. I'm talking about jumping up and down, running around the room, licking. It's, well, flattering. And as a result, I know that I'm all talking when I have to pretend to be some big tough dog owner. You know, I told you I had a Doberman

once before when I was, you know, in my 20s, extending into my 30s from a single college student to a married man with a newborn baby. Leon. And look, Leon was the dog of a young single man. I mean, he did not have an easy life in that he wasn't pampered. He rode around in truck beds. He ate whatever food was offered to him. He was loyal to a fault. smart as could be but you know he was basically raised by a single father he was a latchkey dog and as a result that was a reflection of the attitude that i had that he's a dog and so you don't put vests on a dog in the middle of winter you don't feed a dog from the table he's a dog I was all talk

Towards the end of his life The last six months of his life Whatever he needed I got Including acupuncture All talk I bring that up because I'm about to face the same scenario with Violet No no no not that she's near the end

She's only five or six years old But Violet is an athlete I mean an amazing athlete Violet can run And she loves to run And I've never seen anything faster She looks like a greyhound she's a fawn doberman and she goes man and she cuts on a dime and she chases and she hunts squirrels

and it is all it is just all go it's a beautiful thing to witness last weekend when i had some time off for thanksgiving i went out to the country i'm a part of a country club but the only thing that is a country club as is probably in your mind is that it's that it's a country club is probably in your mind is that it is a club that is truly in the country. There's no tennis. There's no golf. There's just 500 acres of cows and fish and tanks. But then because of that, the roads have cattle guards. And I have taken for granted that everyone knows what is a cattle guard. I'd explain it to Hegset this past weekend. A cattle guard is rows of metal tubes laid into a road so that you don't have to open and close a fence every time you drive through.

Cows won't walk over a cattle guard. It's think of, say, half a dozen metal pipes. Each one, you know, a good, you know, three to five inches in diameter laid next to each other but with a gap in between. So if the cow tried to walk across the cattle guard, his hoof would slip down into the gap. And it could be catastrophic, but they learn. I mean, they don't want to step on a cattle guard so they don't pass through the gate.

Well, as smart as Violet is, she hasn't seemed to figure out what a bovine dummy can that you're not supposed to run across a cattle guard. We were going back and forth on cattle guards several times last weekend, and she managed to navigate it, and she would never use that athleticism to leap flying through it. On the last pass, literally, we're about to leave the ranch. I say to her stay, stay. And then I drove across the cattle guard and stopped, and I was going to try to encourage her to come at it from a running pace and leap over the cattle guard. No dice.

By the time I'm out of the truck, she's already across, and she's already hobbling on three legs. And I don't know what happened, and she didn't yelp, and she doesn't seem to be in pain, but she's now hobbling on three legs. And I let some time pass. And, you know, it got a little better. she's got a big knot on her right knee. She can walk. She puts pressure on all four, but she's ginger on her right hind leg.

And she wants to go for a walk. She's all good, but then she comes back from an end of a walk, and now she's a little ginger again on her right knee. And I've already begun to look this up, and what is it? Did she tear her ACL? What's going on in her knee?

And the point is, I'm all talk. In order to recover that beautiful athleticism, to give her back, joy to give her back the ability to run. I'll do it, man. It'll be thousands, I'm sure. And I'll pay for that knee surgery for Violet because I'm all talk. Story number one. It's Christmas season. It is Christmas season, right? When is Christmas season? The tree has gone up. The lights are on outside the house. The garland is laid across the mantle. The Christmas decorations are out at the cane home. And that's led to a question about when both Christmas decorations

should go up and when Christmas decorations should go down. And by extension, what is the Christmas season? I don't think Christmas season should begin before Thanksgiving. The only thing, and I mean at the only thing that I will forgive before Thanksgiving is lights on the outside of the house because lights are nice. Sometimes when you drive around, you wonder why we don't have lights year around. But then if we had lights year round, they wouldn't be special. So if you put up lights before Christmas, I forgive you, because it's a nice slow roll into the season. But no trees, certainly no garland, no trinkets before Thanksgiving. But starting on Black Friday and certainly the weekend after Thanksgiving, I feel like you have full license to go.

I think you can even go as so far as the garland. The trees certainly can go up. And I think that most people are well on their way to surrounding themselves in Christmas spirit. But that does lead to then, well, when does it come down? This is a conversation I had with my Fox and Friends co-host, Rachel Campos Duffy and Pete Higset this weekend. And maybe it's a thing with men and women.

But for the men, both me and Pete, the Christmas decorations come down no later than New Year's. They can stick around for a little bit after Christmas, but it's got to come down and we've got to move on to January. We've got to move on to 2024. That's not what Rachel Campos Duffy felt. She felt like it needs to extend this year to January 6th. And no, I know we're all tempted to believe. That's because January 6th has become some type of political date. But instead, it's because of the Advent callers, Epiphany, the 12 days of Christmas, which begin on December 25th. Now, she's a Catholic and the producer of this podcast, Patrick Hatton, is a podcast. And he too believes that's the true Christmas season, that it doesn't actually begin until Christmas and then goes 12 days. And so that's well into January. But here's the thing.

I'm not Catholic. I'm not Eastern Orthodox. And I don't think it's, I can just all of a sudden take up the traditions of Eastern Orthodox. I can't all of a sudden become Catholic. So as much as we sing the 12 days of Christmas, we're kind of on the secular calendar here. And the big day is December 25th. And that week after, between Christmas and New Year's, is a nice, slow travel or bunker down at home period of the year.

And so that's when Christmas decorations begin to come down. There's something about Christmas. And I'd say by December 28th, the decorations turn sad. And the trinkets on the mantle become cluttered. And I'm all of a sudden tired of how busy the house looks. And it needs to go back to a neater cleaner look. We need to get rid of the Christmas cards. There's more to say on that in future episodes of the Will Came

podcast. We've got to get rid of the garland ASAP. I can only put up with that for a little while before that looks like junk. And the tree can be the last thing to go because the tree is nice, and I do think it generally adds to the house. But for the vast majority, I guess, of secular or Protestant Americans, the Christmas season is approximately from after Thanksgiving to New Year's. And for the Catholics, I'll extend you into Epiphany. But we go all in and then we get all out. That is the Christmas season. We'll be right back with more of the Will Cain podcast. For a limited time at McDonald's,

enjoy the tasty breakfast trio. Your choice of chicken or sausage McMuffin or McGrittles with a hash brown and a small iced coffee for five bucks plus tax. Available until 11 a.m. at participating McDonald's restaurants. Price excludes iced coffee and delivery. Fox News Audio presents Unsolved with James Patterson. Every crime tells the story,

but some stories are left unfinished. Somebody knows. Real cases, real people. Listen and follow now at foxtruecrime.com. Story number two. Texas is in. Joy. I mean it.

True joy. Florida State is out. Injustice. The college football playoff. I wrung my hands about this all weekend long. Of course, starting Saturday after Texas dominated. Oklahoma State. And then Alabama beat Georgia. I stayed up late enough to realize that Florida State was going to beat Louisville. And Sunday morning and late Saturday night was an all-out, quite honestly, persuasion campaign for my partisan tendencies towards the Longhorns to get them into the college football playoff. But I do not think it was necessary. The horns were going to the college football playoff. Sunday, 12.30, Eastern time.

The selection show is going down right as after I have boarded the plane and we are taxing to the runway. I'm streaming it on my phone. And when I see the Texas Longhorns come up at number three, I raised my fist in the air so hard it hit the ceiling. And everybody around me thought I was a terrorist. I looked around and smiled because I thought surely there's other people on this flight headed to Dallas that are also watching the college football selection show. And nobody else seemed to be. No, they thought I was a terrorist. So I kind of let out a half-hearted hook-ham.

I got nothing. Now, I put a hookahorn sign up. I got nothing. But I do think they've been understood. I was just crazy, not a terrorist. The seedings are one, Michigan, two, Washington, three, Texas, four, Alabama. On the outside looking in, five, Florida, State, six, Georgia.

Let's start with joy. It truly was joy. Texas got better as the season went along. Texas dominated Texas Tech. Texas dominated Oklahoma State. They're not the most impressive victories on any particular team's resume. But if you watch Texas in the Big 12 championship game, I do think you would have seen something that needed to convince you on a qualitative standard.

Texas belonging in the college football playoff. And that's the play of Quinn Ewers. The quarterback from Texas was phenomenal, something like 450 yards passing. He's so good, in fact, in that game that I'm already not going to reconsider and perhaps enter the NFL draft, that he won't stick around. Four, another year at Texas. Anybody that can play quarterback like that can elevate his team into the top four, paired with the weapons that Texas has, and Xavier Worthy,

three deep now at running back, Jaden Blue, Adon-I-Mitchell, Jatioon Sanders, and a defense that, should we never forget, shut down Alabama. No one can run on Texas. The nation's leading rusher, Ollie Gordon, from Oklahoma State, managed 34 yards rushing. Texas looks like one of the four best teams in the country and Texas has the resume of one of the four best teams in the country. I'm not getting emotional.

I have something in my throat that is causing my eyes to water. If you're watching on Rumble or on YouTube, and I'm trying to talk through it, but I am losing my voice, perhaps in charge. joy, but not tears of joy, just fighting this whatever's going on in my throat. As I try to tell you about the college football playoff, then there is Florida State. Florida State goes undefeated 13 and 0 in a Power 5 conference and is boxed out of the college football playoff in what I think can only be described as an injustice.

There are two ways that everybody looks at this debate. Do we pick the four best teams? Do we pick the four most deserving teams? If you're picking the four best teams that have to have some quantitative metric to back up that they are the four best teams, I think that you would arrive at the exact playoff that was given to you by the college football playoff committee. I think you would arrive at Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama. But we have to have some humility in what it means to be the best team. And when we're deciding the best team, it can't just be our subjective opinion.

It can't be Vegas odds. It can't be Plato's shadows on a cave wall of strength of schedule or strength of record. These are all things we use to run hypotheticals on games in our mind. when we have things that have happened on the field to give us real evidence on who are the best teams. And I don't think it's one and the same as the most deserving, but I think there is a blend that does have to lead you back towards Florida State over Alabama. I think the best evidence for that is the way everyone saw Oregon all season long. Vegas favored Oregon by nine and a half over Washington on Friday night. Everyone thought Oregon was undoubtedly a top four team.

And what happened? Oregon lost to Washington for the second time this season because the game has to be played on the field. I was rooting for Georgia to beat Alabama because I thought it was the easiest path for Texas. In retrospect, I was completely wrong. By virtue of Alabama beating Georgia, we put ourselves in a position where Alabama couldn't get in as the SEC champion to the college football playoff unless Texas was also in the playoff. Texas beat Alabama on the field handily in Tuscaloosa by 10 points. It wasn't a fluke. It was convincing.

And for anybody that says, oh, well, that was week two and Alabama's gotten better and Jalen Milrose gotten better. Well, so is Texas. And at what point are we evaluating Alabama? Last week, when they needed a Hail Mary on 4th and 31 to beat 5 and 6 Auburn, we have to honor what happened on the field and Texas beat Alabama. So when Alabama beat Georgia, all of a sudden I realized, oh my gosh, Texas is in the college football playoffs. All my buddy started texting me.

We're in. We're in. I mean, we're nervous. But it added up, logically. We're in now. If Georgia had won, it would have forced a Texas versus Florida State debate. And maybe it would have gone the same way as Florida State versus Alabama. I don't know.

We'll never know. But I don't know why I thought Georgia needed to win. I was worried for the exact reason that Florida State should have been worried. The way the college football playoff committee would view Alabama, the way they view the SEC. Florida State lost a debate to Alabama in a committee room based upon reputation. I thought Bruce Feldman at the Athletic said it very well. He wrote the following. Alabama and the SEC are the proverbial elephant in this room.

Nick Saban is the greatest coach of all time, and to me this year was the greatest coaching job he's ever done in season. His team got whipped at home by Texas in week two and didn't look anybody. better struggling with a middling USF team the following week. But Jalen Milrow kept making big strides, and when it mattered most, he and the tide made enough plays to knock off a Bulldogs team that wasn't anywhere near as dominant as it had been in its two previous title seasons. The problem for Alabama and the SEC is the partner they're about to bring in, Texas.

Texas did beat Alabama convincingly in Tuscaloosa. That happened, and there was nothing fluky about it. The Longhorns were the class of the Big 12. There wasn't a second best team in the Big 12 this year. But Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma, the team Texas stumbled against. And as expected, Texas hammered the Cowboys Saturday. Remember, this is an Oklahoma State team that went nine and three and lost by a combined score of 78 to 10 against South Alabama and UCF.

That wasn't going to help Texas' cause, but do we just forget that a week ago, Alabama barely escaped Auburn, a team that got blown out at home the week before by New Mexico State, 31 to 10. By that logic and everyone saw, you could not put Alabama into the playoff without putting in Texas. And that forced the debate by Sunday morning to be clearly Florida State versus Alabama. Alabama in the conversation as the SEC champion and having just beat Georgia. Georgia fans held on to the idea that they may be in the college football playoff, was never going to happen. You can't lose your last game of the season. I mean, that's almost a lock. You didn't win a championship. You didn't win the SEC championship. You lost to Auburn. It's not

the four, I mean, you lost Alabama. It's not simply the four best teams. Otherwise, it's cake baking. It's ice skating. It's just a judging competition. So Georgia had to be out. Ohio State was never in the conversation. Oregon was now out. That left Florida State and Alabama. And the place the Florida State found themselves was dealing with a conference and a team that carries a reputation beyond any one single season, beyond one program, beyond one team, and will always win debates against other teams with close margin based upon history, based upon SEC. I'm not telling you it's right. I'm just telling you the way it is. Ari Wasserman in the athletic row.

But Alabama, like Pierce, Georgia and Ohio State, teams with a wealth of raw talent on their rosters, lost a game at home. Better teams have been left out in the past than this Alabama team because losses have consequences. Alabama's loss to Texas didn't have a consequence because we're enamored with the SEC and what it means to beat Georgia.

It didn't matter that Alabama, though perceived to be an entirely different team in September, lost the Longhorns. That game could have been a playoff game in September. It turns out it was an exhibition. There are plenty of people who are against the expansion of the field to 12 playoff teams because they argue the regular season has sanctity. The games matter. That's what makes college football different,

that every single weekend is supposed to matter. But it didn't, says Wasserman, because Alabama losing to Texas in the end didn't matter. He goes on, but if the games in the regular season aren't going to matter when it comes to picking the final four, then there are no consequences for expanding to 12. You didn't decide the game on the field.

You didn't decide the playoffs on the field. You decided it in a committee room with 13 people. Florida State won all their games. games. They were punished because they're quarterback. Jordan Travis broke his leg on a dirty tackle, a hip-drop tackle, ugly, and people didn't trust that Florida State with a backup quarterback could compete with Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, Michigan, Washington. And you know what? I think they're right. I don't think Florida State does. I don't. If there's one team in there, and I'd expand it down to seven, I'd include Ohio State.

If there's one team in there, I'd probably extend it to eight. I'd include Oregon. If there's one team in it that I don't think can win the national championship, it is Florida State on its backup and third string quarterback. They've got a great defense, but I don't think they could. They struggled with Louisville. They won. But I also have to have humility.

That's my opinion. Okay? That's my opinion that Florida State can't win. the national championship. I would rather see Alabama. I mean, it'll be more entertaining than Florida State. But that's my opinion. Then I have to have humility.

And I've got to honor that 13 and 0 in a Power 5 conference, by the way, we do have to at some point say, are all these conferences equal? But still, a Power 5 conference, you won all your games, did all that you was asked of you. You won with a backup quarterback. You deserve to prove. You are one of the best. You deserve to be in there.

Over an Alabama team that should pay a consequence for losing to Texas. This idea that the college football playoff sees, our regular season, is pure and every game matters. That's been undercut now. That's been destroyed. So we all should be ready to embrace a 12-team playoff. I know I am. And I think I do think, I don't have anything against Alabama. Everything and stuff is personal.

No, it's not at all. I don't hate Alabama. I don't hate Georgia, who I don't think is in a discussion. I don't hate Ohio State. I don't like OU. I don't care for the Aggies. But I'm just telling you, imagine being a Florida State fan. Again, my producer, Patrick Hatton is.

I suffered with this through him. I'm not doing this because of him. I'm telling you, imagine being a Florida State fan, and you won every game, and you don't get a chance to play for the national title. That is an enjoyment. justice, that is only offset by the fact that I remember that Texas is in the college football playoff. Don't go anywhere. More of the Will Kane podcast right after this.

It is time to take the quiz. It's five questions in less than five minutes. We ask people on the streets of New York City to play along. Let's see how you do. Take the quiz every day at the quiz.comx. Then come back here to see how you did. Thank you for taking the quiz. Story number three, Ron DeSantis versus Gavin Newsom, a vision of the future. Last week on Thursday night, at the same time the Cowboys were beating the Seattle Seahawks, Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom, the governor of Florida and the governor of California, squared off in a debate on the Fox News Channel with Sean Hannity.

It was a fascinating debate, much like talking about college football teams. Everyone thinks when you analyze something or tell you exactly what you think is true, that you have some hidden agenda or rooting interest. I don't have feelings, for example, about Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump. I just share with you honestly my analysis. There's a lot of people that when I did the boot analysis, which was fun and also true, I think that was some hidden agenda pro Trump and hate DeSantis. It's not. I'm telling you what I saw. And I guess what I saw in that debate with Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis was different than what everybody saw online.

A lot of my friends, a lot of people online thought DeSantis crushed Newsom. I do not think that happened in that debate. I think Ron DeSantis won the debate against Gavin Newsom. But that's largely because he had facts. He had reality on his side. Gavin Newsom would have you believe at the end of that. debate that California has a booming economy. People are moving to California from Florida. California has lower taxes than Texas, and it was more open during COVID than Florida.

That is what Gavin Newsom sold you in that debate. He lied. He lied, and he lied, and he lied. He lied prolifically. He lied easily. He lied. He lied. He lied. He lied. sociopathically, and he lied, I'm afraid, effectively. He's a very, very good liar. Here's his playbook. Establish a lie. Back it up with random statistics and then moralize. Turn it to emotion. Here's how the playbook played out in one particular example with DeSantis. He said, probably deflecting and avoiding a question directly from Sean Hannity. He did that very well as well. When pressed on any given thing, he had losing facts.

He had losing reality. He deflected. He pivoted. And he talked about Ron DeSantis banning books in Florida. That was his declarative lie. You're banning books in Florida. Then he offered up his random statistic. 1,346 books banned in Florida.

No one in that moment could fact. checked that. What is he talking about? What books? 1,346, band. And then he moralizes. And I don't like how you demean the LGBT community, Ron DeSantis. You're mean. And I don't like how you're cruel and talk down and demean these minorities. Now he's claimed the moral high ground. Now he's emoted. Now he's lied, spun, and stood on his high horse. above Ron DeSantis, forcing DeSantis into the position of defense. And he did well at defense, but he had trouble really ever getting on offense. Newsom interrupted. He bullied. His voice carried more weight. Is there something in the tone? He looks physically good. You know, I say very

heterosexual. He effectively spins to flex and lies. And he did it again and again and again. And here's the truth. There are no books being banned in Florida. It starts with the lie. And everything else is a house built upon a false foundation. He's talking about books that Ron DeSantis has made a lot about shouldn't be taught in schools, shouldn't be in school libraries. We're talking about sex books, gay sex books, pornographic books, in elementary and middle school libraries. That's not banning books. Any more than putting an R-rated rating on a movie is. Any more than showing good discretion about talking to your kids about pornography. Any more than having an age of consent when you sign into a porn website, whatever. That's

not banning. But that's the lie from Gavin Newsom. He is so effective at it that I'm afraid casual observers, people that don't pay attention to politics all the time, don't watch Fox, don't watch CNN, don't watch that much, but vote casually, we'll tune in when it matters and go, huh, that guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about. He's authoritative. Oh, and he has convictions. Oh, and he's for the little guy. And he is so good at it that he will win over. Not the DeSantis supporters, of course, not the Trump supporters. I'm not talking about any of those people. I'm talking about the independent, casual voter that so often decides elections.

Look, DeSantis is fine. He's good. Here's as a debater. He's not a great campaigner. That is not a personal insult and it's not rooting interest. It's clear. He's a fabulous governor. And I think he'd make a great president.

He's good at policy. He's good at the job. But I don't know that he's ever going to get. the job. Not a good enough debater and not a good campaigner. He won in the same way Alabama would beat USF because he's got better athletes. Alabama has five-star athletes all across the field, right? Ron DeSanis had the facts in reality. He's a better governor than Nassantis and he did a better governor than Newsom and did a better job than Newsom. But he barely beat Newsom in that debate the way Alabama barely beat USF because Ron DeSantis is really, because

Gavin Newsom is really good at spinning, deflecting, and lying. The only risk for him is he too good. Is he too good? Is he too slick? Is his hair too shiny, too pulled back? His smile too joyous, to twinkle in his eye too much. And he does have a happy twinkle in his eye. He's having a good time lying.

Is it cut through to that casual voter to go, that guy, maybe he's not authoritative. Maybe he's like a used car salesman selling me a lemon, which is the truth. The risk for Newsom is if he's too good. He is running for president. You don't do this unless you're running for president. That's another lie. He said he wasn't. Joe Biden is under high likelihood, high probability of being replaced as the Democratic nominee for president.

And Gavin Newsom is ready, ready to enter the race. And we should all be concerned about how good he is at spinning, deflecting, and lying. That's going to do it for me today here on the Will Kane podcast. Celebrate Texas. I'm sorry, Seminoles. I'll see you again next time. an ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcast, and Amazon Prime members, you can listen to this show, ad-free, on the Amazon Music app. Following Fox's initial donation to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund, our generous viewers

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